Review

If you were to kidnap an unfamiliar listener and coerce them into a snug pair of circumaural headphones, bargaining the hypothetical subject’s freedom in exchange for simply naming which era this latest Destroyer 666 EP emerged from, they'd most likely stammer a little before taking a hesitant stab somewhere around the early ‘80’s.

And they’d be wrong. Dead wrong. [Lightning, evil laughter].

Or perhaps, like one of those exceedingly common and naturally charitable people-snatchers, you might concede that all the evidence does indeed point rather accusatorially towards a time about three or four decades prior to its actual release. On this outing the appropriately named Australian quarter cough up four tracks of muddy mixing, early blackened thrash riffs, and deliciously cheesy lyrics – every aspect unapologetically celebrating bygone genre roots with, dare I say, wild abandon. Opener ‘Violence is Golden’ sets the nostalgic tone immediately by employing chunky riffs, wacky solos, and utilitarian drumming, all the while conveying the resulting old-school reunion with suitably over-compressed production. But that's far from where the comparisons cease; after a wailing introduction the title track especially begins to reek of early Venom, spit in the face of some corrupted speed metal act no less, and treated to a night of heavy drinking rather than by a vile of antivenin.

What the astute reader may have gathered by now and what I'll spell out regardless is that Call of the Wild sounds far from original, and it's hardly trying to be – what it offers instead is a whole lot of fun, something the group manages to deliver in only a few minutes, and that’s more than enough reason to embrace these contemporary metal anthems. Despite its size, this brief collection is guaranteed to please anyone searching for a faithful revival of classic metal tropes with the passionate revelry to match. Or hell, use it for strange kidnapping trivia, I'm not your mom.